Spring coiling device



SePt- 1, 1953 c. l. .JOHNSON ETAL SPRING comme DEVICE Filed June 2, 1950 Sme/who@ CIJ/ .fo/Maan and James A /Va/'d gff.

...2 @W1 A iba. i all U Patented Sept. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPRING COILING DEVICE Application June 2, 1950, Serial No. 165,623

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a tool or device for winding coil springs, and the main object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character which may be of a portable type and capable of being used by an operator when called upon to make a variety of coiled springs, either of the compression type or the extension type, to varied specications and in more or less small quantities.

Although commercial spring coiling machines are available for the production of springs in large quantities, they are not suitable for small production such as may be encountered in model work and the special requirement of the present invention. Furthermore, various methods along the line of the present invention have been employed, but so far as is known, none of these methods have been entirely successful, due principally to imposing on the spring material unsatisfactory stresses which necessarily produce a spring of poor quality when considering uniformity and appearance.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mandrel suitably supported for rotation by a rotating chuck, said mandrel having freely mounted thereon a bearing member for said mandrel adapted to be held from rotation during rotation of the mandrel but capable of longitudinal movement thereon to permit proper coiling of wire stock upon said mandrel during 'its rotation incident to the formation of coiled springs.

A further object of the invention is the provision of removable mandrel bearing inserts for the freely mounted bearing member, said inserts having varying inside diameters constituting the mandrel bearing surface, and this for the purpose of adapting the winding device for use of mandrels of different outside diameter in the producing of a coiled spring of the required diameter.

A still further object of the invention is to provide adjustable guiding means for the wire stock so as to allow for different angles of entry of the wire onto the rotating mandrel upon which the wire is Wound, and this for the purpose of producing the type of coiled spring desired.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a bending tool adjustable with respect to the winding surface of the mandrel, so as to be able to accommodate between said bending tool and the mandrel, wire stock of different gauge or diameters.

A further object of theA invention is the provision of a removable and adjustable member or members associated with the bending tool and so situated with respect thereto as to serve as a means for pressing the wire in an outward direction along the mandrel after said wire is fed to the mandrel and forced thereupon by the bending tool during the winding operation, and this for the purpose of producing a compression spring with the desired helix angle and in accordance with the thickness of the removable member or members being used.

The construction of the illustrative device is shown in the drawings which accompany and form part of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a slide elevation view (partly in section) of a wire coiling device 'constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional View (partly in section) of the said device taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, looking toward the bending tool and the freely mounted member supported by the mandrel.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of a modled form of the wire coiling device, said view being partly in section, and

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view (partly in section) taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, looking toward the bending tool and the freely mounted member supported by the mandrel.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 and 2, it is to be noted that a rotating chuck I, suitably supported, is provided and that removably secured to said rotating chuck is a mandrel 2, adapted to be rotated by said chuck. This rotating chuck, as is obvious, may be rotated by power means, or said chuck may be manually rotated by means of a crank.

Mounted upon the mandrel 2 is a bearing member 3 for said mandrel, and in this connection, said mandrel is freely rotatable in said member 3. Furthermore, said bearing member 3 is adapted to have movement along the mandrel and away from the rotating chuck l as the spring is being coiled upon said mandrel and this for the purpose of producing a proper spring formation. This bearing vmember can either be held by hand during the coiling of the wire upon the mandrel as it is rotated by the rotating chuck I, and this without other supporting means at the free end of said mandrel, or said bearing member may be sup-ported by suitable means (not shown) to allow not only for proper support but also to permit movement of the bearing member longitudinally of the mandrel, it of course being understood that said bearing member is restrained from rotation with the mandrel, which restraint is necessary, as will be obvious, for permitting proper winding or coiling of the wire upon the mandrel 2. In this connection, it is of course to be understood that one end of the wire stock is held by or xed to the rotating chuck member so that during rotation of said chuck proper Winding of the wire stock upon the mandrel will be accomplished as said mandrel is rotated.

Suitably mounted upon the bearing member 3 by nut and bolt arrangement, is a bending tool 4 which is in the form of aneccentric, which eccentric bending tool 4 may be adjusted to a position with respect to the mandrel winding surface and according to the wire stock diameter being used, or in other words, so that a proper clearance between the mandrel and 'the eccentric bending tool slightly larger than the wire diameter used may be provided for receiving said wire, and with a view to placing the wire stock in its, proper close relation with the mandrel as said mandrel is rotated. At this point, it is well to note that -as the mandrelis rotated (the end of the Wire stock being attached to the rotating chuck and the bearing member and its bending tool being held from rotation), the wire stock is forced underthe bending tool and onto the mandrel thus producing the desiredcoiled spring. In this connection it is to be noted that said bending toolhas asmooth continuous wire engaging f ace with all surfaces thereof equally spaced from the mandrel a distance to just accommodate wire stock of the particular gauge being coiled, and that vsaid wire engaging face is of sufficient width to not only properly force the wire upon the mandrelduringrotation of the nI nandrel but to contact and thus iron out a plurality of'coils of the wire stock as they are wound uponthe ir 12 1,n 4;lrel. In the vceiling ofthe wire upon the mandreland under the bending tool the wire engages that part of the lefthand flat f ace of the bearingy member 3 closely adjacent the rotating mandrel, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

Carried upon the bearing member and projecting fromsaid wire engaging face-thereof and improperspaced relationship to the winding face of the mandrel, isa wire guiding means 5 having a smooth shank portion 6 Which is received within, a recess 1 entering from the wire engaging surface of the bearing member 3, said shank portion 6 having as an extension formed integrally therewith, a reduced screw shank 6 which has screw-threaded engagement with the bearing member and this as clearly indicated in Figure l of the drawing. Thus the wire Vguiding means 5 is adapted ior adjustment upon the bearing member in a direction extending longitudinally of the mandrel, said guiding means being held in any one of its adjusted positions by means of a setscrew 8 entering from the Vopposite flat face of the bearing member and vengaging the extreme end of screw shank portion 6 for the purposes intended as will be obvious. This adjustment of the wire guiding means is desirable to allow for different angles of entry of the wire onto the rotating mandrel and underneath vthe bending tool, and, as will be understood, this angle of entry with respect to Vthe pitch angle of the spring determining the initial tensionrequired in thecoiledspring beinguproduced. Thus it will be seen that with a device of the character shown in Figuresl and 2,an extension spring with the required initial tension may be produced in an eiiicient and satisfactory manner.

In order that the winding device or tool herein described may be used for winding springs of different outside diameters, removable mandrel bearing inserts 9 are provided for the bearing member 3, said'insertshaving varying inside diameter, to thus make `provisin for an insert to properly t the winding face of the mandrel being used, and this whereby mandrels of different outside diameter may be used in producing the required outside diameter size of coiled spring desired, it'of course being understood that a bearing-insert with the required inside diameter will be .used to receive therein a mandrel of the desired 'diameter for the winding operation to be performed. These bearing inserts may be received within the bearing member 3 in a manner 'as indicated by dotted lines in the drawing, and the selected bearing insert is fixedly held in such position by means of a set screw I0 which .engages the outside diameter of said bearing insert. YThis set 'screw I0 enters the bearing member from the outside periphery thereof and received within an internally screw-threaded recess II extending from said periphery to a point allowing said screw plug I0 to engage the'outside diameter of the bearing insert.

Referring to the modied form ofthe invention as shown in Figuresj and 4, it will be -noted that in certain respects this form ofthe inventionv is quitesimilar to the structure shown in Figures land 2.

Invthis form of the invention, which is 'primarily adapted for producing vcompression springs, a different type of bending ltool is-used, said tool being inthe form of a slide member I2 located adjacent to and in contacting relation with the Wire engaging face of the bearing member 3, it being understoodthat the'bending tool I 2 has sliding relation with said face of the bearing member and maybepositioned and held in anyone of several adjusted positions -with respect to the bearing member and the winding face of the mandrel according to the diameter of the wire stock being used.

The lbending-tool l2 in thisparticular-embodiment of theinvention, actu-ally constitutesone-of a pluralityofspacers I3 of somewhat similar formation, all of said spacers, including the bending tool I2, providedwith a-slot I4, and this for the purpose of allowing for different positions of adjustment with respect to the winding face of the mandreLit ofcourse being understood that the bending tool spacer I2 is adjusted in accordance with thegauge of wire stock being-used. 1n this connection, it is noted that anut and bolt vassembly'is used for locking and maintaining said spacers I2 and I 3 in their'various positions of adjustment upon the bearingmember 3, the bolt, indicated at I5, being suitably fixed-to the bearing member and arranged so as `to pass through the slots I4 in al1 ofthe spacer members and serving in part as a guiding means for saidrspacers when being'placed in their various positions lof adjustment, A lnut I6, which is adapted to engage the outside face-'of theouter spacer I3, has screwfthreadedengagement with the free end o f the bolt I5 which projects through slots I4, and this serves to hold said spacers, including the bending tool-I2, in their adjusted positions as said nut is screwed upon lthe bolt and into engagement With the face of the outer spacer member. lPins I 1-I1"proje'c'ting from the side face ofthe bearing member are also proadeas 5 vided to assist in properly guiding the spacer members to their various positions of adjustment.

As heretofore set forth, this modified form of the invention (Figs. 3 and 4) is used for the production of compression springs, and in this connection, it is noted that the wire is fed beneath the lower edge I3 of the bending tool I2 and also guided along the wire engaging face of the bearing member 3, and furthermore, said wire is held against such face during the winding operation by means of the adjacent spacer member` i3, which during the operation of the spring ceiling device assumes a position with its lower edge closely adjacent the winding face of the mandrel. In fact, all of the spacer members i3 during the spring winding operation assume positions where their lower edges are closely .adjacent the winding face of the mandrel, and in such positions serve to determine, according to the combined thickness said spacer members i3, the helix angle of the spring being produced, it being noted that after the wire is fed beneath the lower edge I3 of the bending tool i2 and onto the mandrel, the

outer spacer member i3 presses the wire outward along the mandrel for the intended purpose. It is also well to note at this point that the wire guide member 5 in this form of the invention is not ladjustable in any manner.

Such being the structure of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4, it will readily be understood that the bending tool i2 may be adjusted to a position with respect to the winding face of the mandrel according to the diameter of the wire stock being used and to thus provide e proper wire clearance, and that further the spacer members i3 are also adjusted to their positions with their lower edges closely adjacent the winding face of the mandrel, it of course also being understood that the wire stock is rst forced under the lower edge of the bending tool i2 and onto the mandrel in a similar manner to that set forth in connection with the Figures l and 2 disclosure, and where the wire is then pressed outward along the mandrel by its engagement with the outside face of the outer spacer member I3 during the coiling operation, and whereby a spring of the desired helix angle is produced laccording to the combined thickness of the spacer members i3. In this last connection, it might be stated that a required number of spacers i3 of the same thickness may be used as shown in Figure 3 of the drawing, or, if preferred, a single spacer member I3 of the proper thickness may be substituted, it being understood in this last mentioned instance that these outside single spacer members will be of varying thickness so that .any one of them may be used according to the desired helix angle of the spring required for manufacture.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A spring winding device of the character described, comprising a rotatable mandrel, means for winding wire stock upon said mandrel as the mandrel is rotated and restrained from longitudinal movement, said means including a member slidably mounted on said mandrel and adapted to be held from rotation during rotation of said mandrel, .a bending tool eccentrically mounted upon said member for forcing the wire stock upon the mandrel during the winding operation, the wire engaging bending face of said bending tool extending without interruption directly from a face of said slidably mounted member against which the wire stock is forced during the winding operation, said eocentrically mounted bending tool adapted for adjustment towards and away from the winding face of said mandrel and with. all surfaces of its wire engaging bending face, during proper adjustment of the bending tool, equally spaced from the mandrel a distance to just accommodate wire stock of the particular gauge being wound, and guide means also mounted upon said bearing member for feeding the wire stock between said bending tool and said mandrel as the latter rotates for winding the wire thereon, said wire guide means having its guiding surface generally paralleling the wire engaging bending face of the bending tool and adapted for adjustment on said bearing member in a direction paralleling the axis of the mandrel to provide the desired angle of entry of the Wire onto the mandrel and the initial tension of the spring being produced.

2. A spring winding device of the character described, comprising a mandrel, a mandrel bearing member slidably mounted on said mandrel, said bearing member including a wire engaging face against which wire stock is forced during the winding thereof upon the mandrel, means for rotating one of said elements with respect to the other for the winding of wire stock upon said mandrel, guide means carried by said bearing member and projecting from the wire engaging face thereof in a direction paralleling the mandrel to feed wire stock to the mandrel during the winding of the wire thereon, said wire guide means having a screw shank portion in threaded engagement with said bearing member to thereby permit adjustment of the guide means to various positions in a line paralleling the axis of the mandrel and to thus provide for the desired angle of entry of the wire onto the mandrel for producing the type of spring desired, said screw shank entering the bearing member from the wire engaging face of said bearing member, and a set-screw also entering the bearing member from a face thereof opposite to that of the wire engaging face of said bearing member and maintained within the confines of said bearing member where it is adapted to engage the extreme end of said screw shank for rmly holding the guide means in its various positions of adjustment. v

CURT I. JOHNSON JAMES A. NORD.

References Cited in the ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 818,463 Page Apr. 24, 1906 365,116 Moore Sept. 3, 1907 949,306 Schaefer Feb. 15, 1910 1,417,629 Ramsdell May 30, 1922 1,505,347 Hoyt Aug. 19, 1924 1,604,172 Klinkmann Oct. 26, 1926 2,094,204 Carter Sept. 28, 1937 2,432,080 Anthony Dec. 9, 1947 2,439,904 Petersen Apr. 20, 1948 2,495,212 De Vries Jan. 24, 1950 EORETGN PATENTS Number Country Date 585,792 Germany Oct. 9, 1933 

